2009 Porsche GT3 Cup S

Another "Cup" of GT3? Well, maybe one more.

Just when you thought it wasn’t possible for Porsche to proliferate the 911 any more, here comes another: the GT3 Cup S. Then again, it’s been a few months since the last 911 variant was introduced.

The GT3 Cup S is based on the GT3 RS, which we’ve already characterized as an “Escaped Race Car” that “was developed for the track, which is where it belongs.” Alas, the track is where the GT3 Cup S is bound to stay, as it has been intensified a few steps beyond the RS and even the GT3 Cup, another turn-key Porsche race car.

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All we can say is that we wouldn’t want to see one of these in the pit lane unless it belonged to our team. The 3.6-liter boxer engine is more or less identical to the power unit used in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup and the international Carrera Cup championships, with power output increased to an eye-watering 440 hp at 8000 rpm, and torque up to 317 lb-ft at 7250 revs.

Do the math: those are some pretty spectacular numbers for a naturally aspirated engine of that size. Evidently, the power increase results from optimized engine electronics and a modified exhaust system (gosh, if we knew it was that easy…). With a curb weight of just 2579 pounds, we expect the stripped, steel-bodied GT3 Cup S to be pretty fast.

Maybe that’s a slight understatement. We’re trying to be subtle, unlike the body on this thing. Based on the wide body of the GT3 RS and not the (relatively) narrow-bodied GT3 Cup, the Cup S is a little bit wider still up front with fatter fenders with air extractors just before the doors.

Other distinctions include simple mono-element round headlamps that remind us a little of the old Ford RS2000, and a scaffold-like, adjustable rear spoiler that is taller than many fireplace mantles—an even more apt descriptor, given the firepower beneath it.

Also adjustable is pretty much every part of the suspension and the brakes are even larger than those on the GT3 Cup. Charged with the unenviable task of introducing the power to the pavement are some 10.5-inch wide front wheels and foot-wide rear wheels mounted with race rubber.

The carved-out interior is pretty much identical to the Cup, from the safety cage to the digital readouts to the long shift lever for the sequential gearbox.

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At 250,000 Euros ($362,000), the price of the GT3 Cup S is about 2.5 times as steep as that of the regular GT3 Cup. But for many racing teams, that would be money well spent to give their drivers an edge when the difference between winning and losing can be hundredths of a second.

For those that already bought a GT3 Cup, a kit to upgrade your slug to Cup S specs will be available in April, at the same time as the Cup S itself will be delivered to its first customers.